Page 26 of Savage

“Can I help you?” I ask him coldly.

When he looks up at me, he looks older than what I originally would’ve pegged him as. His face is haggard and worn, and he has a twitch that won’t seem to go away. He flashes me a big smile, though, and says, “Just trying to figure out where the gastroenterologist is. The building is a little confusing.”

Somehow, I have a hard time believing that’s why he’s here. The twitch could be nerve damage, but his clothes look like he’s been living on the streets for weeks.

“Dr. Lamard is Suite 512, one floor up,” I say curtly. “If you’re looking for the social services office, it’s on the second floor.”

He blinks at me, then scowls, his eyes darkening. “Hey, fuck you, man. I don’t need the social services office, Dr…?”

“In which case, be on your way so you don’t scare the patients.” I glare at him pointedly and motion toward the elevator. I really can’t have him loitering around here and disturbing the women coming to see me.

“Yeah, whatever,” he says, starting to head to the elevator. He stabs at the button to call the elevator, then pauses, turning back to look at me. “See you later, doc.”

Hopefully not. I make sure he gets on the elevator before I head into the office. My office manager, Clara, is already there, preparing for the day.

“Clara, contact security and inform them about the man who was lurking outside just now. Have them pull up their security footage to see what he looks like.”

Clara stands up straighter and nods. “Yes, sir. Oh, and Dr. Paladar is going to be a bit later today. She got held up by… something.”

Of course she did. She’s late more often than not, but it’s helpful to have her on staff since some of the patients prefer a female doctor. The nurses I employ are all women, too, for that same reason.

The only other man in the office is one of the receptionists. At least I don’t need to deal with the constant backstabbing and competition I would have in a larger setting. My years during rotation at the hospital cured me of any idea I could be friends with fellow doctors.

I head to my office to check my schedule for the day. I have about fifteen minutes to prepare for the first client, so of course that is when my mother calls.

The temptation to ignore her is strong, but she is fully aware of my work hours, and ignoring her now would invite her to harass me in the evening.

“Yes?” I answer, not bothering to hide my annoyance.

“Is that any way to greet your mother?” she says. I can hear the bustle of her office in the background, the regular chatter of her congressional staffers as well as the TV set to a news station.

Senator Constance Savage is a very busy woman, so perhaps I should feel honored that she bothered to call me at all.

“Very well, Mother. To what do I owe the pleasure of your call?” I set the call to speaker and begin browsing my emails. There are a few patients who have questions, and…

Hmm. One from Damien Rossi, Giulio’s right-hand man.

I open that one, surprised that he’d be willing to send an email. It’s obfuscated, of course, the sender listed as a random set of letters and numbers, but the subject line makes it clear who it’s from.

Dr. Savage,

I’m writing to request your services for G’s girlfriend…

“Are you listening at all?” my mother suddenly says, louder than before.

I roll my eyes. “No, Mother. You’ll have to repeat that.”

Giulio’s girlfriend… would be that Vanessa woman Stef mentioned. I feel an irrational anger thinking about her already. It’s her fault Stef was whored out to twenty different men at once.

“One of these days, I’m going to quiz you, and cut off your trust fund unless you manage to get all the answers right.”

“I haven’t touched my trust fund since grad school,” I counter. “I bought the condo with my own investments.”

“I still think you could have found a house. That’s a better investment than a condo.” Her voice goes distant, and I can hear her shouting at one of her staffers to stop fucking up.

This is why I don’t pay attention to her calls. She’s not paying attention to them either.

“Anyway, as I was saying. The hospital fundraiser is coming up soon. I had my assistant forward you the details and calendar invite, and she says she hasn’t received the read receipt yet. Your brother and sister will be there too, but obviously you’re the important one this time.”

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